It’s pretty simple, really. I learned all 87 rules in the NHL 2009 – 2010 rulebook in 107 days leading up to the Winter Olympics on February 12, 2010. Since then I've covered the entire IIHF Rulebook and I'm now up to the NHLPA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Sure, I tried finding non-hockey related hobbies, but it's hard to find book clubs that want to read every hockey book ever written.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Nino's Back. Kelowna's Toast.

The news: After maxing out the nine games he needed to play before his entry-level contract kicked in, Nino Niederreiter is returning to the Portland Winterhawks for the season. And may I commend the New York Islanders for their wise choice. Dudes, we're not done worshipping him. You can have him next year. Besides, if he plays the same season as Jordan Eberle, they can't both win the Calder (see previous entry). Gotta think strategically, my little experts.

It's Halloween, it's Nino's return, we're back to back against the Kelowna Rockets: They're toast. The end.

On the other hand: Goalie Ian Curtis, who came to Portland a little over a year ago after a tumultuous junior career, has cleared waivers. I was a fan, and I truly do wish him the best. Plus, when he was on 94.7 last year, his perfect playlist included Eve 6 and Kings of Leon. I am now a CD-carrying fan of both bands. Also, he was just all around cool for someone so young and who has been through so much. Very best wishes for all the best, wherever he lands.

More to come this weekend, but you can check out oregonlive.com/hawks for all the news that's fit to print on what has been a wild 'n wooly week out here in the Pacific Northwest.

About Me

I’m Samantha and I’m a hockey addict. It wasn’t always this way. Until I was 12, I’d never even seen a hockey game. I grew up in Arizona, before the Phoenix Coyotes, in the pre-historic era known as the seventies. Enter the eighties, which coincided with the sports event of the century. On February 22, 1980, the United States men’s hockey team defeated the Russians. I was a pre-teen, oblivious to what that game meant, until it interfered in my ability to hang out at the mall. My father had agreed to chauffeur me…after he was done watching the game. I stomped to my room in rebellion. But somewhere in the first period the yelling and stomping overpowered my REO Speedwagon record. So, I relented and the rest is history. As we approach the 30th anniversary of that victory, I have shamefully come to realize I love a game to which I don’t know the rules. 30 years and I don’t even know what a hat trick is -- unacceptable. That, fellow hockey nerds, is coming to an end with this blog.